Yakuza boss, 74, sentenced to death over murder

A Japanese court said yesterday it had sentenced a yakuza mafia boss to death after he ordered a murder and attacks on three people.

Satoru Nomura, the 74-year-old head of the "Kudo-kai" crime syndicate in southwest Japan, denied accusations he had masterminded the violent assaults on ordinary people.

The Fukuoka District Court confirmed it had sentenced Nomura to death, while Japanese media said the verdict came despite a lack of evidence directly linking him to the crimes.

"I asked for a fair decision ... You will regret this for the rest of your life," Nomura told the judge after his sentencing, according to the Nishinippon Shimbun.

The yakuza mafia were long tolerated in Japan as a necessary evil for ensuring order on the streets and getting things done quickly, however dubious the means.

But in recent decades, stiffer anti-gang regulations, waning social tolerance and a weak economy have resulted in steadily falling yakuza memberships. Nomura was found guilty of ordering the fatal 1998 shooting of an ex-boss of a fisheries cooperative who exerted influence over port construction projects, major media outlets said.

He was also behind a 2014 attack on a relative of the murder victim, and a 2013 knife attack against a nurse at a clinic where Nomura was seeking treatment, the court reportedly said.

The 2012 shooting of a former police official who had investigated the Kudo-kai was also deemed Nomura's responsibility. The official survived with serious injuries to his waist and legs, media said.

Prosecutors reportedly argued that Nomura had exerted absolute control over the syndicate. His number two Fumio Tanoue was jailed for life yesterday.

The yakuza grew from the chaos of post-war Japan into multi-billion-dollar criminal organizations, involved in everything from drugs and prostitution to white-collar crime.